Valparaiso, Indiana—The Central Arkansas Bears' offense woke up just in time on Saturday night against the Valparaiso Crusaders to salvage what could have been a 2-0 shutout and left with a 2-2 tie. Trailing 2-0 late in the second half, goals by Soren Jensen and Moiad Ankir in the 75^th and 77^th minute saved the Bears from a crucial conference loss on the road. Ankir assisted on the first goal and Christian Ilia and Daltyn Knutson were credited with assists on the second. Head coach Ross Duncan said his team can take away a lot from their performance.
 
"We put ourselves in a tough spot with some bad decisions at the start of the second half. Climbing out of a 2-0 hole isn't easy, so credit to our guys for fighting back," Duncan said. "We didn't get the result we came up here for but I think we will be able to look back at this game and take a lot from it."
 
Both teams struggled to produce any offense in the first half as there were nine combined shots and only two on goal. Central Arkansas' lone shot on goal came early in the eighth minute when Kasper Anderson tried to find the net, but could not convert and that was the last shot on goal of the first half.
 
The second half was a different story as both teams combined for 16 shots. The Crusaders' first shot in the second half proved effective as Michael Marchionna connected on his second goal of the year in the 52^nd minute to give his team the 1-0 lead. After a Knutson shot was blocked, the Crusaders took possession and scored 48 seconds later as Adan Garcia netted his first of the year in the 67^th minute. The Bears had a prime chance to get on the board when they were awarded a penalty kick, but Niklas Brodacki could not convert in the 72^nd minute. Just three quick minutes later, Central Arkansas would convert as Jensen found the net to make it 2-1 in the 75^th minute. Ankir picked up the assist on the goal and decided he wanted to do more as he converted a header past the Crusaders goalkeeper in the 78^th minute to tie the match at 2-2. The Crusaders would launch six more shots in the last 12 minutes, but two were blocked and the rest could not stay on target as both teams prepared for extra time.
 
The first 10 minutes was all Crusaders as they recorded the only shots of the half, but could not get past Marc Olsen as he had two saves and watched two other shots sail high. Valparaiso got one more shot near the goal in the final 10 minutes, but Central Arkansas blocked it in the 107^th minute and the game ended in a tie.
 
The Bears are now 2-1-1 in conference and 5-5-3 overall and will welcome the first place Loyola Ramblers to town on October 27^th at 7 p.m.